As I was checking my e-mail on MSN, I happened to see this article that really caught my eye. It seems to tie along well with our previous discussion on transgendered people and how they are viewed in society. This schools administration apparently has a problem accepting the fact that this boy wants to live the normal life of any other high school homecoming king. His peers obviously accept him, as they were willing to vote him into the position of homecoming king. The school board said that the ballot stated to "vote for a girl for queen and a boy for king" and they said that was the reason he was not allowed to be king. Come on, this is the 21st century!! Now more than ever is the time that people are becoming comfortable with themselves and this school has the audacity to assign gender roles to their students. Maybe I am completely wrong in thinking of it that way, but it seems like the school is afraid of things that are different and so they are trying to just brush it all under the rug. This was just an eye-opener to me and I hope things work out for the homecoming king!
"Michigan transgender teen challenging high school’s refusal to let him be homecoming king"
A Mona Shores teenager is crying foul after administrators in the West Michigan school invalidated the vote of his peers in a race for homecoming king.
Oakleigh Reed says he wanted to run for the position because he was as qualified as any other person running. School officials defend their decision, reports NBC 25:
Assistant Superintendent Todd Geerlings said the issue is simple: The ballots gave two choices, vote for a boy for king and a girl for queen.
In a report Monday night, WOOD TV 8 in Grand Rapids interviewed a school official who claims the district did not violate any nondiscrimination rules by refusing to crown Reed as King. The station first broke the story Sunday night.
But Reed says the school has acknowledge his transition to male by addressing him with male pronouns, allowing him to wear the male uniform for band and the male graduation gown.
The ACLU of Michigan’s Jay Kaplan had this to say on the issue in an e-mail to Michigan Messenger:
We are aware of the situation here and it raises issues as to whether this student is being treated differently by the school district because of his gender identity. Gender identity is not a protected category under our state civil rights laws, nor does Muskegon include it in its anti-discrimination policy. However, discrimination against transgender persons because of gender stereotyping has been found in some cases to be actionable sex or gender discrimination. At any rate, there have been other school districts that have permitted transgender students to serve as Homecoming King or Queen in accordance with the student’s gender identity and expression. It’s disappointing that the Mona Shores School District has decided to take the opposite approach, particularly where previously it has shown sensitivity towards this student, regarding how he is referred to in school (and his ability to wear a male robe at graduation). We hope the district will reconsider its decision.
Julie Nemecek, a nationally recognized transgender activist who was fired from the conservative Christian Spring Arbor University after she began her transition, also weighed in on the controversy in an e-mail to Messenger:
The point that the school is missing is that gender is determined by the brain and not the genitals. Established case law in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals says that when the Civil Rights Law of 1964 says “sex” it also means gender. The student was discriminated against for being who he is no less than if the school had said the prom king or queen had to be white.
The ACLU has reached out to Reed and requested permission to write a letter to the school district on his behalf, WOOD TV 8 reports. Reed is reportedly considering accepting the offer.
As I was checking my e-mail on MSN, I happened to see this article that really caught my eye. It seems to tie along well with our previous discussion on transgendered people and how they are viewed in society. This schools administration apparently has a problem accepting the fact that this boy wants to live the normal life of any other high school homecoming king. His peers obviously accept him, as they were willing to vote him into the position of homecoming king. The school board said that the ballot stated to "vote for a girl for queen and a boy for king" and they said that was the reason he was not allowed to be king. Come on, this is the 21st century!! Now more than ever is the time that people are becoming comfortable with themselves and this school has the audacity to assign gender roles to their students. Maybe I am completely wrong in thinking of it that way, but it seems like the school is afraid of things that are different and so they are trying to just brush it all under the rug. This was just an eye-opener to me and I hope things work out for the homecoming king!
"Michigan transgender teen challenging high school’s refusal to let him be homecoming king"
A Mona Shores teenager is crying foul after administrators in the West Michigan school invalidated the vote of his peers in a race for homecoming king.
Oakleigh Reed says he wanted to run for the position because he was as qualified as any other person running. School officials defend their decision, reports NBC 25:
Assistant Superintendent Todd Geerlings said the issue is simple: The ballots gave two choices, vote for a boy for king and a girl for queen.
In a report Monday night, WOOD TV 8 in Grand Rapids interviewed a school official who claims the district did not violate any nondiscrimination rules by refusing to crown Reed as King. The station first broke the story Sunday night.
But Reed says the school has acknowledge his transition to male by addressing him with male pronouns, allowing him to wear the male uniform for band and the male graduation gown.
The ACLU of Michigan’s Jay Kaplan had this to say on the issue in an e-mail to Michigan Messenger:
We are aware of the situation here and it raises issues as to whether this student is being treated differently by the school district because of his gender identity. Gender identity is not a protected category under our state civil rights laws, nor does Muskegon include it in its anti-discrimination policy. However, discrimination against transgender persons because of gender stereotyping has been found in some cases to be actionable sex or gender discrimination. At any rate, there have been other school districts that have permitted transgender students to serve as Homecoming King or Queen in accordance with the student’s gender identity and expression. It’s disappointing that the Mona Shores School District has decided to take the opposite approach, particularly where previously it has shown sensitivity towards this student, regarding how he is referred to in school (and his ability to wear a male robe at graduation). We hope the district will reconsider its decision.
Julie Nemecek, a nationally recognized transgender activist who was fired from the conservative Christian Spring Arbor University after she began her transition, also weighed in on the controversy in an e-mail to Messenger:
The point that the school is missing is that gender is determined by the brain and not the genitals. Established case law in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals says that when the Civil Rights Law of 1964 says “sex” it also means gender. The student was discriminated against for being who he is no less than if the school had said the prom king or queen had to be white.
The ACLU has reached out to Reed and requested permission to write a letter to the school district on his behalf, WOOD TV 8 reports. Reed is reportedly considering accepting the offer.
This is very interesting to me because when I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, we also had a transgender student. She was born a male, but knew that she was meant to be a female, so changed her name, dressed as a girl, and took different steriods and pills in order to make his body change into a woman's body. I live in an extremely liberal part of California, so she was actually very accepted in our high school, although she came and talked in my living skills class, and told her story. It was devastating to hear about all the horrible things people had said to her and done to her. Although I do understand that it is a difficult topic to address and understand, I am a firm believer in trying not to judge anyone, and to love everyone. Christ loved and loves every single person, no matter who they are and what they choose to be. I hope that one day we can live in a world where we can try to accept and love everyone.
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